News

CMS clarifies policy on texting patient info across healthcare teams

Following some confusion, a Survey & Certification Letter sent last week has reaffirmed CMS’s stance on texting patient information, specifying that messages sent among clinicians are permissible so long as healthcare teams use a secure pla...

NIH working group: All of Us program should begin as pilot study

The National Institute of Health’s All of Us genomic program should take a phased approach to genomic analysis, building the program in a systemic way before it attempts to reach 1 million participants, according to a recent report from the pro...

CMS clarifies policy on texting patient info within healthcare teams

Following some confusion, a Survey & Certification Letter sent last week has reaffirmed CMS’s stance on texting patient information, specifying that messages sent among clinicians are permissible so long as healthcare teams use a secure pla...

AHIMA names new 2018 board president

Diann Smith is the new American Health Information Management Association president.
The American Health Information Management Association said on Tuesday that its members elected Diann Smith as President and Chair of the 2018 Board of Directors...

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its final rule on the confidentiality for patients with substance use disorders, opting to leave the privacy framework relatively untouched for providers using alternative payment models.
The ...

How OurHealth pinpointed $150 million in ER savings by using Indiana Medicaid data

Indiana partnerships present data and insights to work on better health outcomes in the state at the MidWest Fall Tech Conference. Credit: Twitter
OurHealth, a provider of employer-based clinic solutions including onsite and near-site primar...

Michigan providers will now be required to check the state’s prescription database before they prescribe painkillers and powerful medications, under legislation signed into law by Michigan Lt. Governor Brian Calley.
The legislation, signed into...

Microsoft, Google invest in precision medicine startup DNAnexus

Major tech vendors are making moves into genomics, bioinformatics and precision medicine.
Microsoft and GV (formerly Google Ventures) have invested in DNAnexus, which closed on a $58 million financing round with investments on Tuesday. The DNAnex...

Vermont’s health information exchange has big financial and administrative problems, and a recent review by Kentucky-based technology consulting firm HealthTech Solutions concluded that most exchange users had lost confidence in the organizatio...

A 'gaming disorder' code in ICD-11? Not so fast

ICD-11 made something of a surprise appearance this week.
Hospital executives and staff reading that the next iteration of the International Classification of Diseases system will contain a new code for diagnosing patients with so-called gaming disor...

2017: Year in Review of cybersecurity developments: Lessons learned in healthcare and beyond

This past year, we witnessed twists, turns, and even chaos in the realm of cybersecurity. In summary, we are finding that, while the healthcare sector is improving its healthcare cybersecurity practices – as a whole, much more needs to be done....

2017: Precision medicine moved closer to mainstream

The past year highlighted the many aspects of precision medicine, showed that there are more emerging, and recognized oft-mentioned obstacles, such as high costs as well as clinical, financial, technological and cultural concerns.
Major health system...